Tag: special needs

“How am I supposed to teach him to tie his shoes?”
The Occupational Therapy student’s cheeks were pink. A concerned look creased her face.

Self-doubt was creeping in. I understood.

Sometimes you get a child on your caseload that seems to have a lot of obstacles to face, just to live a normal independent life.

This little boy was no exception. Charlie was born with amniotic banding, a rare condition caused by fibrous strands of the amniotic sac entangling the limbs or other parts of the body, which can cause deformities in utero. In Charlie’s case, he was born without his left hand.

How do you teach bilateral skills like cutting, buttoning, and tying to a child with only one hand?

You adapt. And you teach them to adapt. There’s always a way.

Every child deserves to live a full and happy life.

They deserve to be independent.

And they deserve to accomplish typical milestones, such as tying their shoes for the first time.

I love to use adaptive tools to make these mountainous challenges just a bit easier for my little guys. So I was super excited to tell my OT student about Zubits.

I’m sure you’ve heard of Mom guilt, Daughter Guilt, and Irish Guilt, but have you ever heard of Therapist Guilt?

I may have invented it…

You’ve probably read letters and blog posts written toward the parents of children with special needs; talking about how strong they are and how hard they work to help their children.

It’s true. But many of those selfless parents still have “The Guilts”.

WHAT ARE “THE GUILTS”?

When you have “the guilts”, there is always something you feel guilty about. It could be about not having a spic-n-span house, not being able to go to loud family events, or losing your patience with a child with special needs. The guilt is always there.